25 – Right next to you (1)
What if I hadn’t used that magic?
That thought kept coming back to me.
There were people glancing at me at the inn,
When I came out onto the street, everyone stopped for a moment.
The sight that was staring at me.
“That kid?”
“I heard wizards are usually a bit older. That’s amazing…”
The occasional exclamations and whispers were making my face feel hot.
The feeling of being recognized as magic by many people was truly amazing.
He gently scratches the back of his throat with his fingers, making his breath come out through a strangely trembling mouth –
Should I say it feels like that?
Because of that, I had no choice but to carefully walk along the road, paying attention to my surroundings.
I thought about the countless hands reaching out towards me, and it was an added bonus that I became nervous for no reason.
However, not as much happened as expected.
Sometimes there were people who looked at me with strange eyes,
There was no one talking to me or reaching out to grab me.
It was just a strange feeling, a feeling of unresolved discomfort that continued.
Then –
“Ugh?!”
The person who put his hand on my shoulder and naturally matched my steps was none other than the guard captain.
Holding a stem of grass lightly in his mouth, he scratched his beard until it made a sound.
“You said you did that magic last night?
This is it. I can’t doubt your skills.
But.”
Tak.
He stopped in his tracks and looked into my eyes, then snorted once and shook his head.
“No.
How could you cause an accident with such innocent eyes?
But I want to tell you in advance, please don’t do anything that will cause a big fuss in the village. Huh?
Also, if you’re hiding something, and if it’s something big…”
But the eyes did not blink,
He never took his eyes off me.
The hand was falling from me and the distance was widening,
“It would be better to talk about it before it’s too late.”
The pressure he put on only got worse.
He continues to look at me with eyes that seem to know something,
Pushing me down with a force that made me feel like I could take out a knife and cut myself at any moment.
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He frowned slightly at the corner of his mouth.
Was the eyes of the knight who was charging at me open like that?
“No, that doesn’t mean you have to cry.
Isn’t that right?
If I did something wrong, of course I will catch it –
Otherwise, don’t take what I say too seriously, which is just nonsense.
Damn, I don’t know if I’m teasing you too much because you’re a child.”
Puck,
He then roughly placed his hand on my head.
Then he roughly hit my chestnut-brown head and threw it away.
“Anyway, I actually came here today because I was curious to see if you would do well at work.
If you ever need help, I heard that wizards like you usually bring a lineman with them.
Open your eyes here and take a good look.
You never know.
Maybe we can create a mercenary group or ‘group’ named after you.”
After hitting him on the back twice, he quickly ran somewhere and disappeared.
…Still unknown.
Those eyes seem to be full of smiles, but they also seem to be hiding something.
Ever since I left my mother’s house, the world has become extremely complicated.
***
“Remove the contamination in the caves of the western mountains, D.”
As I smoothed out the rolled up paper, I looked at the people standing on the street.
Each person held and unfolded a blade or an ugly-looking club,
From time to time, he was flaunting his body as if showing off to people looking around the street.
Some people simply exchanged money and headed somewhere,
People wearing bandages waved their hands and parted ways.
I thought the village I saw from a distance was a bit small.
Looking at it now, it seemed to be quite a large and spacious place.
Especially when so many people come and go.
“Over there.”
I turned around in surprise at the feeling of fingers lightly touching my back.
The person who had to step further back was waving at me.
“I heard a rumor. Are you the wizard who came this time?
I would like to ask if you are on your way to subdue the demons on that mountain.”
Blonde hair flowing down the shoulders.
Eyes that resemble the blue sky.
Unlike the woman I met yesterday, her body was tightly closed, but despite this, the curves of her body inevitably seemed to be exposed.
And that thing gently swaying behind it is… A tail?
“I’m interested in that. Is it okay if I accompany you?”
Definitely the first one,
Not even the second time,
It was my third promise.
For some reason, it feels like the third promise, not the first or second, keeps shaking in a dangerous way.
Before I get carried away by something that sparkles and is even fluffy in a different way than my mother’s –
I took steps as if running away.
“Oh, over there!”
He stretched out his hand and looked like he wanted to say something to me, but
I apologized by lowering my head and immediately left.
But even after that.
“That kid? A kid? He’s too young?”
“But he’s a wizard. Maybe -“
And next time too.
“You don’t even look at women?”
“I heard that wizards usually go with vanguards.
Is it because of that?”
For some reason, only women’s voices kept coming from nearby.
I kept moving my feet busily and tried to quickly find a ‘senior’ and leave.
I swiveled my eyes around thinking that it would be nice to have a shield, a blunt weapon, or at least something sturdy –
“Ah, why on earth…!”
It could be said to be an ordeal, and before I knew it, a strange scene had been created around me with women walking around in groups of twos and threes.
Sometimes there were people who showed off their shields as if to show off,
There were women walking behind me as if they were trying to show off how tall they were.
Why?
Why on earth?
Because I’m a wizard?
This isn’t even a red light district, is it?
I embrace my body as the distance keeps getting narrower and narrower,
Even if you fold your arms here and there and crumple to avoid people –
When I was about to be caught by women who were approaching me with even more intent.
When I tried to stop crying during the day, which was scarier than the night.
“Over there.”
Although very calm,
A voice as cold as ice echoed through the crowd.
“I don’t think it’s polite to approach a young boy like this.”
The sharp sound of shoes hitting the stone floor.
A height that stands out among many people.
And, there is a clear spot next to the eye.
“…Uh – “
But something was strange.
The head was black, and the horns were not visible.
Even the tail that was always shown to me was not there.
More than anything, those eyes that look down indifferently, as if they don’t know me, are cold black.
It seemed like it wasn’t someone I knew.
“What are you, meddling-“
“Watch your mouth.
Shouldn’t you know who you’re attacking and use your short tongue?”
More than anything else, the cold, sharp voice that seemed to cut out one’s heart could never be said to contain warmth.
Nevertheless,
Nevertheless,
A strangely familiar feeling prevented me from leaving my seat.
“Okay then, wizard.
Would you please follow me for a moment?”
With just one word, the black-haired woman, who had broken off even the one who was protesting, stepped aside as if to give her way.
I couldn’t break my promise to her mother, but I couldn’t go behind her block.
So I slowly moved forward and followed her.
While receiving the quiet stares of many people.
***
“Hey, thank you.”
Before entering a narrow street that is somewhat quiet and not crowded with people.
I bowed my head to the person who had guided me silently until now.
“But I’m sorry. I don’t think I can follow you any further.”
If I hadn’t made a promise to my mom, I wouldn’t have been in this difficult situation –
Still, a promise was a promise.
For this reason, I wanted to say goodbye to the unfamiliar woman.
Until she turned to me and looked down serenely.
“…”
Not a word was said,
Even though not a single hand was raised,
I feel something much heavier than the guard captain weighing me down.
For a moment, my posture faltered to the point where I almost fell.
I tried to calm her trembling heart and tried to say hello to her to get out of her place, but-
“You can stop pretending not to know.”
The feel of the tail wrapping around my leg held me tightly.
Don’t fall down even if you lose strength.
“Ah – “
I felt happy for a moment.
My eyes started spinning and the ground rushed towards me.
Like a knight leaping towards me with all his might.
I stretched out my hand to stop it.
The place where her hands touched was none other than her mother’s arms.
“Shh, it’s okay now.
Are you very scared?”
While stroking her head,
Gently tickling my back with his tail,
Despite having black hair, the feeling that instantly envelopes me with red warmth –
“Ugh…”
A strange sound was pulled out from within my heart.
So much so that my face gets hot in an instant.
But my mother didn’t stop caring for me.
Rather, I applied even more force to the tail and trimmed the messy hair one by one –
“If it was that difficult, it would have been better if you had contacted me.”
It gave a little energy to my forehead.
Recalling once again the existence of the pattern I had been blinking at with a faint burning sensation,
I became acutely aware of my shortcomings.
“I think the outside world is very difficult.”
Apparently, not too long ago, I was trying to get away from her mother.
For some reason, I don’t dislike this embrace so much now.
Once you receive the unknown gaze of countless people,
I thought it might be better to receive such explicit emotions.
…Of course, it would be good if both could be avoided.
“Then how about going back?”
To me, who feels my shaking heart and tries to sort out my complicated emotions,
That’s what my mother asked.
“How about going back and forgetting about what happened here?”
As her tail tightened even more,
As I face the moment when comfort changes from comfort to discomfort,
Mom was slowly raising the corners of her mouth.
The reason I wanted to leave home reappeared before my eyes.
